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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29550660">stars</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/riceballs/pseuds/riceballs'>riceballs</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Gen, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 20:22:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,154</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29550660</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/riceballs/pseuds/riceballs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In all his lifetimes, Haechan will be a pilot.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Na Jaemin, Minor or Background Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2159199</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>stars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I keep saying I won’t add to this au but then I post another one </p><p>Usually, I would put a disclaimer that the names of planets don’t matter, but in this case, it actually does, because in my five minutes of research I actually learned something about Star Wars.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once in elementary school, Haechan’s teacher had their class draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up. At the end of the exercise, she was looking at 23 pictures of various starships, proud declarations of “I want to be a pilot!” written under them all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In high school, they didn’t get to draw a picture, but more than two-thirds of Haechan’s classmates had written ‘pilot’ as their first career choice. It was almost a given, considering how Corellia is pretty much the piloting capital of the universe, a starting ground for most of the best fliers in space history. Haechan’s not native to Corellia, having been brought there from Shili with his mother in pursuit of her own piloting dreams. But his dream is the same, someday soaring across the galaxy in a grand starship, watching as the stars pass by, each with their own story that was just waiting for Haechan to discover. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And maybe that’s why he’s here now, sitting next to Jaemin on the DREAM’s hull, a sad smile on his face as he tells Jaemin he would be leaving the DREAM ship in two weeks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jisung told me of this good opportunity on Coruscant. They’re recruiting for the intergalactic fleet right now. If you make it, they give you your own ship, send you to different planets on different diplomatic missions.” he looks into the sky. “I… I put in an application two days ago and got accepted for the training camp.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin hums. “Is that a guarantee that you get in?” Haechan shakes his head no, and Jaemin hums again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They sit in silence, watching from their perch as ships pull in or fly out from Naboo’s flying post. There’s a small ache in Haechan’s heart, unwilling to look over at Jaemin’s face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s ironic,” Jaemin finally chuckles, and Haechan dares a look in his direction. Jaemin’s face is bright, with no sign of betrayal in his eyes. “I feel most pilots would go from a government piloting career to a bandit ship, and not the other way around.” Haechan laughs as well, before they let their laughter falter out and the silence takes over again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well… we’re going to miss you here,” Jaemin quietly says. “It’s not going to be the same without you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The use of </span>
  <em>
    <span>we</span>
  </em>
  <span> is not lost on Haechan, but he says nothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll miss you all too.” he replies simply. It’s not a lie. Haechan will miss them all, Renjun, Chenle, Jeno, and Jaemin. From the moment that Renjun had recruited Haechan fresh out of pilot school, to all the adventures they’ve experienced together this past year, Haechan’s really found his home away from home. Haechan dreads having to tell the rest. He knows they’ll be understanding, be excited for the opportunity he’s pursuing. But they’ve grown from a mismatched group of strangers to the family that they are now, and leaving something so familiar is always a scary feeling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guess I’ll have to hand over the controls to you now, huh.” Haechan tries to lighten the mood. Jaemin smiles softly, appreciation at the distraction clear on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, who else would you give it to? Renjun? Jeno?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey now, Renjun managed to fly this piece of junk to Corellia from Ralltiir, he’s not that bad a pilot. Jeno though? Well…” Jaemin laughs outright at that, Haechan grinning as well. Truthfully, Haechan wouldn’t trust anyone else but Jaemin to take over as the main pilot on DREAM. Haechan did pride himself as the best flier of their group, but couldn’t discredit Jaemin’s skill. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The silence returns. Above them, the sky turns from hues of purple to dark blue, stars beginning to sparkle more clearly, the millions of twinkling lights a reminder of all the unknowns of the galaxy just waiting to be discovered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re…” Jaemin’s voice is soft, and Haechan can barely hear, but he doesn’t dare move any closer. “You’re going to do amazing. I know you will.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His voice is genuine. Haechan knows that Jaemin’s hiding more complicated feelings, locking them away and keeping them hidden away in his heart, but the faded grin and unwavering eyes tell Haechan that Jaemin means every word he’s said. It’s just who Jaemin is as a person, ever so truthful and sincere in everything he says. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His eyes flicker down to Jaemin’s lips, and he can see Jaemin doing the same. But they both know they can’t, know that after this night, the secretive smiles and flirtatious banter will come to an end. Holding an actual relationship in the galaxy is hard enough, and for those who live their lives on aircraft, it’s nearly impossible. Being a pilot means being married to your job, and even if this has been Haechan’s dream since elementary school, tonight was one of many moments where Haechan wonders if he chose the right path. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But then Jaemin smiles softly, putting his hand over Haechan and gives it a comforting squeeze. He looks back out into the night sky, taking a deep breath as a cool breeze rustles their clothes and brushes through their hair. Haechan does the same. The stars seem endless, going on for miles and miles across the galaxy. Just from his perch on Naboo, Haechan knows there must be thousands of them within his sightline, and millions more in existence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Haechan can’t wait to be able to explore them all, find out the secrets that they hide within their luminous haze. He’s bubbling over with excitement over all the planets he’ll visit, the various cultures and communities he’ll learn about in his future travels. And well — as he takes a sneaking glance over at Jaemin — despite their distance from each other, he knows that Jaemin will be supportive of his every step, because such was the life of those who fly. Where ever takeoff was the promise of a new experience, each flight a new adventure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And maybe, just maybe, in the far future, when space has been explored enough and they’ve both had enough of planet-hopping, they’ll come back together and explore the one last mystery the universe had for both of them, the locked away box with their feelings and emotions that they tuck away deep in their heart. Even if right now both their focus is on their travels through space, there will always be the dream they share together, two boys who’ve found their home both amongst the stars and with each other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Because Haechan was born to be a pilot. In all his lifetimes, he knows he would be up in the galaxy, flying through the stars. But in this particular life, there’s one added component, something that Haechan wouldn’t give up for any of the opportunities or adventures that his other lifetimes could give him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In this life, he’s met Jaemin, and that’s the greatest experience that their galaxy could ever give him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>why planets matter in this one: corellia really is famous for pilots according to star wars lore. han solo (he’s a character from star wars who’s known for flying a ship) is from there. </p><p>in case you're curious about some of this au's "lore", check <a href="https://twitter.com/8dumplings/status/1357859296499875840">this</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/8dumplings/status/1362623203735203841"> here</a> for a timeline so far. chronologically speaking, this takes place way before 'hyperspeed' and 'an apprentice of adventure'. the position in the intergalactic fleet that haechan is going for is where he meets winwin. </p><p>twitter: <a href="https://www.twitter.com/8dumplings">8dumplings</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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